We have eaten just a bit of everything so far, but haven’t been able to fully get through any produce from last week’s CSA box. I had a couple beet smoothies and made a big batch of roasted veggies to take for lunch this week. For dinner the other night, K made some omelets with a mish mosh of veggies folded inside.

As usual, I ate most of the fruit from last week, so popped over to the farmers market to get some more this weekend.

What We Bought:

Dozen eggs from Benton Harbor, MI

Raspberries from Benton Harbor, MI

Blueberries from Bangor, MI

What We Learned:

We are getting better at incorporating our produce into basically all of our meals. A piece of my breakfast, lunch, and dinner, can easily have something from our box in it.

Basically, any vegetable chopped up and added to an omelet is delicious!

K picked up our CSA box this week and he took a page out of my book by bringing a bag to transfer the produce so we don’t have to bring the box home. He also purposefully did not bring any cash to the farmers market so he would not be tempted to make any impulse buys.

This is K’s attempt at taking a cool artsy picture for me.

What We Bought (From the CSA):

Broccoli

Cauliflower

New baby yukon potatoes

Bok Choi

Red Beets

Parisian Market Carrots

Raspberries

Blueberries

Summer Squash

English Peas

What We Learned:

Since we failed on using the beets from the last box, K instantly used some of the gigantic beets we got to make a beet and berry smoothie and absolutely loved it

I am back in the workplace now and no longer working from home, so it has been a bit of an adjustment. Unfortunately, I can’t just pop over to Green City Market on a Wednesday unless I go at 7 AM before work.

My biggest challenge right now is incorporating all our produce into my lunches.

Instead of hauling our box home this week, I brought a large canvas bag to transfer my produce into. This way I did not have to take the box back to the farmers market on Wednesday, I just left it with them to reuse again.

That will have to be my new routine because I am no longer going to be working from home anymore (I got a new job!) and can’t just pop over to the Wednesday market whenever I feel like it.

Although that is a bummer, I am excited to pack my lunches again and see what I can do with our produce.

Most of the time when we think of what goes into compost, we think of organic food waste and yard clippings.

While that is entirely correct, there are plenty of other natural items that can be added to your compost pile as well. Here are some other items you may have been tossing into a landfill that are perfectly acceptable to be returned back to the soil.

Dry Cereal

Bread

Crackers & pretzels

Pasta, rice, and grains

Loose leaf tea

Natural fibers (ie. cotton, hemp, silk, wool)

Coffee grounds

Shredded paper

Human and pet hair

Sawdust

Cardboard

Lint from dryer and vacuum

Napkins, paper towels, and tissues

Wooden chopsticks and popsicle sticks

Wood ashes

Brown paper bags

Old spices

Egg shells

Expired jams and preserves

Nail clippings

Cotton balls & cotton swabs (the cardboard kind)

Think of what will actually be left in your trash can! Probably not a lot!

All of this depends on if you are composting at home or using a service. If you have compost collection, your municipality or service will give you exact guidelines of what is and is not allowed.

I can’t believe it has been seven weeks since we have started this local journey.

Our refrigerator is full of so much green and our cabinets are looking more full of less processed products.

This week’s CSA box (photo by K since I was in Denver)

On Wednesday I brought my CSA box back to the farmers market and picked up some raspberries. Instead of taking the carton the raspberries came in, I brought my own produce bag and plopped them in my berries colander when I got home.

What We Bought (Almost All from CSA box):

Head lettuce

Avon Spinach

Red frill mustard

Arugula

Radishes

Strawberries

English Peas

Greenhouse Cherry tomatoes

Yellow Spring onions

Raspberries from Mick Klug Farm in St. Joseph, MI

What We Learned:

We still need to up our arsenal of recipes for veggie meals, often we are just cutting up a bunch of greens and tossing it in a pasta or salad

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This is a personal blog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer or any organizations I am affiliated with. Information provided here is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge, but that there may be omissions, errors or mistakes.

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